Some of the area’s most talented and, in some cases, unheralded musicians will be singing, dancing, playing instruments and raising money for their Bow High School music department.

The Bow POPS (Parents of Performing Arts Students) will host a fundraising talent show Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Bow High School auditorium. Proceeds will help buy a new grand piano for Bow High School, a cause the Bow POPS has taken up over the past year. The new piano will replace a 18-year-old piano the high school purchased used 10 years ago when the school first opened.

“We deliberated and talked about a lot of possible fundraising events and decided that a talent show of parents of students who will benefit from the piano would be a good draw,” said Linda Ashford, event coordinator. We think people will want to come to this.”

After sending an e-mail investigating the feasibility of a talent show, Ashford said she immediately received 13 replies offering assistance, eight of which wanted to perform. Of the 15-16 people who will participate, either solo or in a group, all but three live in Bow, said Ashford.

Those involved will show off their talents by singing, and/or playing the piano, the guitar, the drums, the bassoon or a number of other instruments. Most participants are parents or Bow High School alumni.

According to Ashford, POPS has raised roughly $12,000 toward the $28,000 to $30,000 it needs to purchase the new grand piano. If all goes well, POPS could be $5,000 closer to its goal.

Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal life insurance society, has offered to match up to $2,500 raised through the talent show, said Ashford. In addition, the society has provided all the fliers, posters and tickets for the show, presenting POPS with a virtually cost-free event. The only cost to POPS will be printing the programs, which Ashford said will be of minimal expense.

Therefore, most of the profits will go toward the new piano. “It doesn’t finish it, but it brings us real close to where we need to be to get this piano,” said Ashford.

Event fliers have been sent home to parents and posters have been placed throughout Bow and Concord. Though the majority of piano money funds has been raised by elementary through high school students, POPS has had several fundraisers and Ashford hopes the talent show will be the most profitable yet.

“The grand piano is our largest project and we’re hoping the talent show is our largest fundraiser,” said Ashford. “We’re possibly going to be putting $5,000 toward this piano with this event, which hasn’t cost us much except for the fear of getting us on stage.”

If successful, Ashford said POPS will make the talent show an annual event to raise money for their various projects. In addition to the grand piano, POPS has raised money for several purchases in the past, including drums for the high school, uniforms for the color guard, and bells for the middle school, and other music department necessities.

The Bow High School Music Department includes more than a quarter of the student population, a high percentage for a music program and something, Ashford said, doesn’t go unnoticed by supporters.

“It’s definitely worth supporting them and because we’ve been doing this so long, we can take a little credit for their success, but not much. Most of it is Bill Metevier,” she said.

Metevier is the head of the Bow High School music department and over the past several years, members of his music department have traveled as far as Canada and brought home numerous awards for their talent and dedication.

But, Metevier said, it couldn’t be done without the POPS’ contributions. “The Bow POPS has, as its mission, to be supportive of performing arts and to that end they have done a great job,” said Metevier, who has lead the music program for eight years. “Can I do it without them? Absolutely not. Their support is essential. The size of the enrollment of our program is very strong and with the staff we have, we try to do a lot with what we have to work with, so we really are dependent on volunteerism.

“We’ve been able to provide extra parts for the program, where we have instruments that we wouldn’t have if not for the contributions of the POPS.”

But a new grand piano will be the biggest and the most important gift to the department, Metevier said.

“The instrument we’re looking to replace is an instrument that isn’t intended, nor is it designed for the task at hand. We’re looking for something that will last,” he said. “The piano we currently use is intended to be stationary at home and doesn’t hold up well for the demands of a high school music program.”